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Manchester City prodigy Phil Foden has revealed that he has lost a bit of fitness due to his lack of playing time under Pep Guardiola this season.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the teenager is one of England’s brightest prospects along with Jadon Sancho and Callum Hudson-Odoi, both of whom won the England Under-17 World Cup with Foden a few years ago.

However, whilst the Borussia Dortmund winger and the Chelsea star were running rings around the Czech Republic for Gareth Southgate’s senior Three Lions side, Foden was playing for Aidy Boothroyd’s Under-21’s – talent wise, the 18-year-old could easily play for the senior side, but a lack of game time at City seems to be hindering him.

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Guardiola has afforded the City academy graduate just seven starts in the cup competitions, and none in the Premier League – Foden has still managed to score six goals.

Speaking after the recent 1-1 draw with Poland, the Under-21 playmaker said: “It’s just good to get out there and play football. I am still young, 18 years of age, so to get minutes was good for me. I lost quite a bit of fitness but it’s coming back slowly. That was due to not playing.”

Those last 18 words are not what City fans will want to be hearing.

Foden added: “I have been trying to do extra after training but it’s nothing like playing a game, it’s totally different. Hopefully I can get it back.”

He must force a move or risk getting left behind

Both Hudson-Odoi and Sancho are also 18, like Foden, and both are making serious movements in the game right now.

The former has seen bids in the region of £30m from Bayern Munich for his services be made, whilst Sancho is being linked with an £100m summer move to Manchester United.

Foden has all the potential in the world and could quite easily be replicating the wing duo’s achievements right now, but he is being held back at City by all of the world-class talent ahead of him in the team now – it was hard enough to have Bernardo Silva and David Silva ahead of him, before Guardiola bought £60m Riyad Mahrez to the club.

For Foden to say that his fitness is waning as a result of his time sat on the bench is sad, and if anything, reinforces the fact that he must leave the Etihad Stadium – Hudson-Odoi handed in a transfer request back in January having not played as much as he would’ve liked, whilst Sancho ensured he left City for Dortmund as soon as possible.

It is now up to Foden to show the same strong mindedness in order to carve his own path.

It has been a shambles of a season at Bradford City this year.

Despite fans flocking to Valley Parade to support their side in League One, they have witnessed defeat after defeat which has led the club to slump to the bottom of the division.

Saturday’s dismal 4-1 loss to Blackpool saw the club fall further adrift from survival with Southend in 20th position now six points ahead of Gary Bowyer’s side.

Although relegation is now looking almost inevitable barring a miraculous turn around in form, it could bring about some positives for the Yorkshire-based side. The prospect of a fresh start in League Two next season could see a major change in the club’s squad with players leaving Bradford in the summer who have simply not performed to the necessary level. In turn, this will open up the possibility of new players to prosper without having the shadow of a relegation looming over them.

Furthermore, after a season of doom and gloom, the club’s supporters may welcome a drop down in level if it means that they can simply go to a game with the feeling that they may be able to see a side who play on the front foot, going for the win.

With Gary Bowyer in charge, they have a manager who has previous experience of securing promotion at the first time of asking from League Two.

During his two year stint with Blackpool, the 47-year-old took the club up via the playoffs, playing an attractive style of football in the process. If given the chance to build his own squad in the summer, there should be no reason why Bowyer cannot achieve the same thing at Bradford.

Despite relegation being the last thing that any club wants to experience, the Bantams need to think of their future and how they can make the best out of an awful situation.

What do you think Bradford fans? Would an overhaul of your squad in the summer lead to more positivity at Valley Parade? Or are there simply no positives to take from relegation no matter the situation a club finds themselves in? Let us know below.

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West Ham are poised to offer Samir Nasri a new contract, reports Football Insider.

The former Arsenal and Manchester City midfielder moved to the club on a free transfer in December, initially signing a deal until the end of the season.

What’s the word?

Manuel Pellegrini’s side have barely seen the best of the Frenchman, who has played just five times in the Premier League thus far this season. He has provided two assists from those games, against former club Arsenal and Huddersfield Town.

Despite his limited game time, Football Insider claim that Nasri has impressed manager Manuel Pellegrini to the extent that the Irons are set to offer him a two-year extension to his current deal, on which he earns £75,000-per-week.

The report comes after a claim earlier this week that West Ham could make a move for Aston Villa playmaker Jack Grealish.

The Daily Mirror reported that the Irons have joined Tottenham Hotspur and AFC Bournemouth in the race for the England Under-21 international.

One feels that the Irons could have a decision to make this summer regarding their playmaking situation.

Potential vs experience

Grealish is a more exciting option than the French veteran.

He has been setting the Championship alight in recent weeks since his comeback from injury; Villa have gone unbeaten in the four games following his return.

Nasri, however, offers the experience that Grealish lacks and has been there and done it all.

He has not yet managed to impress at West Ham, though, and this news is slightly confusing from an Irons perspective.

It suggests that the move for Grealish won’t happen, with the Hammers instead placing their faith in a 31-year-old.

Fans may not be too happy with that decision; Grealish could now instead move to Spurs, the club’s bitter rivals.

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The Everton fans have once again been on social media calling for their club to sign Andre Gomes on a permanent deal in this summer’s transfer window.

Gomes joined Everton on loan from Barcelona ahead of the 2018-19 campaign.

The Portugal international did not make his debut for the Toffees until the middle of October due to an injury, but has been a regular since.

As it stands, the midfielder will head back to Barcelona this summer.

However, the Everton supporters are hopeful that director of football Marcel Brands might be able to secure a permanent deal for the 25-year-old.

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It does appear that the Toffees will spend big this summer in a bid to improve on what has been a largely frustrating campaign.

However, Gomes – contracted to Barcelona until the summer of 2021 – might well have other options after impressing at Goodison.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Everton fans can be seen below:

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Liverpool fans have taken to Twitter to heap praise on Joel Matip after the centre-back excelled against Cardiff in what was a tough encounter in Wales.

The Cameroonian stood out in a Liverpool side who appeared to be struggling to break the Bluebirds down, mainly in the first-half, although his persistence and positivity helped Jurgen Klopp’s side get the three points.

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Matip took advantage of a deep-lying Cardiff backline by driving forward with the ball frequently, which forced their defenders to come out and shut him down, and freeing the forwards up as a result.

It would have been easy for Matip to simply lump the ball hopefully into the box, but even when it wasn’t going his way, he kept taking the game to Neil Warnock’s side and was pivotal in getting his side a vital win.

The former Schalke man was named as the Man of the Match by Sky Sports and the Liverpool fans on Twitter certainly felt the 6ft 4 colossus, valued at £18 million by Transfermarkt, was worthy of the award…

تلقى عمرو الجنايني رئيس اللجنة المكلفة بإدارة الاتحاد المصري لكرة القدم، برقية تهنئة من جياني انفانتينو رئيس الاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم “فيفا” بمناسبة عيد ميلاده.

احتفل عمرو الجنايني رئيس الاتحاد المصري أمس بعيد ميلاده الـ 56.

وقال رئيس الاتحاد الدولي في رسالته للجنايني: “أتمنى لك عيد ميلاد سعيد، وأن يكون هذا اليوم  مليئًا بالسعادة، ونأمل أن نواصل العمل معًا من أجل مستقبل هذه اللعبة الجميلة التي توحدنا جميعًا”.

وأضاف: “أود أن أغتنم هذه الفرصة لأشكركم على جهودكم ومساهمتكم في تطوير رياضتنا وتعزيز قيمها في مصر”.

واختتم: “أتمنى لك صحة جيدة، ولعائلتك وأصدقائك وأحبائك، وأتطلع إلى رؤيتك مرة أخرى قريبًا، مع تمنياتي بالنجاح”.

جدير بالذكر أن اللجنة الخماسية برئاسة عمرو الجنايني تدير اتحاد الكرة المصري بشكل مؤقت لحين انتخاب مجلس جديد في الفترة المقبلة.

It was the news that Luton Town board members and fans have been waiting on for a while, planning will go ahead on a new stadium.

Luton Borough Council’s Development Control Committee unanimously passed proposals to build a new stadium alongside the Newland Park project, which will see homes and a leisure centre be built next to junction 10 of the M1.

Chief executive of the club, Gary Sweet, called the decision ‘a giant leap forward for Luton’, and he isn’t wrong.

The Hatters made Kenilworth Road their home for over 120 years, but this isn’t by choice. Plans to expand or build a new stadium for the club have been around as far back as the 1950s, with aims of building a ground who can host 15,000 to 20,000 fans, but one way or another, a move or an expansion has just not happened for Luton.

But with this recent development, the London club now have concrete legal motions that can see the team move into a new stadium in the not too distant future, and with Luton on the brink of promotion to the Championship, it is no better time than to announce plans for a new stadium.

Luton have asserted themselves this season as a club with the potential to be big players in the English game, with a passionate fan base, a fun style of football, and an academy churning out quality players, and now with plans to move into a new state-of-the-art stadium no in motion, the reputation of the club will be higher than it has ever been before.

If the Hatters can remain a solid Championship side before their move into their new ground whenever that will be, Luton will have all the foundations they need to test themselves as a big club in England once again.

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Crystal Palace’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka may have gone under the radar when it came to recognition from the PFA this month, but the impressive defender is clearly well-appreciated at Selhurst Park by his peers and the fans, who both voted him as player of the season on Tuesday.

If that wasn’t enough, the 21-year-old was also acknowledged for his community work in what was surely a fantastic evening for the starlet – it has to be said, he deserves all three gongs.

The Palace number 29 has been a fixture in the starting XI since breaking through to the first team in February 2018, but has really come into his own this campaign, establishing himself as one of the best right-backs in the league.

There’s some exciting changes happening at Crystal Palace next summer. Find out what in the video below…

If the athletic tough-tackler didn’t know it already, then he’s clearly got a very bright future ahead of him and perhaps a busy summer, too, with a number of top clubs surely interested in acquiring his services. Here’s what the SE25 faithful had to say on Twitter, as they extended their congratulations…

Leeds United’s failure to really trouble Birmingham City goalkeeper Lee Camp over the weekend again emphasised that they have been lacking a proper creative midfielder at times this season.

Players like Tyler Roberts and Mateusz Klich have done really well under the circumstances to help the team get to such a competitive position in the league and has shown a great mentality and work ethic under Marcelo Bielsa, but if the Whites were to play in the Premier League next season and are hoping on making a statement towards the bigger clubs, then they will need to strengthen their options in the centre of the pitch.

The fact that Leeds played some really good football at stages on Saturday but only managed one shot on target should be a sign to Bielsa and his staff that they need to do more if they were to take the club to a competitive level again.

One or two poor decisions by Roberts and Klich on Saturday could’ve been avoided if they decided to make a better pass or find a teammate in a better position. Indeed, without Samu Saiz, the Whites lack that cutting edge and Pablo Hernandez simply can’t do it all alone.

Yes, Bielsa’s trademark hard style of football is what is propelling the club’s Premier League challenge, but having someone to play between the lines is what could be the difference between the top tier and remaining in the Championship.

Roberts especially had a good opportunity to square the ball into the middle of the box during the first-half at St Andrew’s but he instead tried to find the back of the net from a very difficult angle with Jack Harrison in acres of space right in front of goal.

Saiz’s exit might have been unavoidable after he pushed for an exit but it could still be one to wreck the club’s campaign.

Leeds fans, do you think your lack of creativity will cost you this season? Join the discussion by commenting below… 

Things looked extremely bleak for Southampton earlier in the campaign as they found themselves caught up in another relegation battle.

And while safety is still not a guarantee, there has been a noticeable improvement on the pitch thanks to the arrival of Ralph Hasenhuttl, a man Saints defender Ryan Bertrand has heaped a lot of praise on.

The Breakdown

“The manager has come in and has given us an identity. He has given us a clear style of play and doesn’t leave any stone unturned,” Bertrand was quoted as saying by the Daily Echo.

“If you were to ask 100 people what Southampton’s style of play was, the answers would all be similar.”

Following on from Bertrand’s words, not only have Southampton got an identity, but it is one similar to what they had under former bosses Ronald Koeman and Mauricio Pochettino.

With Hasenhuttl at the helm, the Saints have their attacking instinct back, breaking devastatingly with efficiency and pace while pressing high when without the ball.

Compared to what was being seen under Mark Hughes, it is just so much better to watch, and most importantly, is getting results.

Ultimately, thanks to Hasenhuttl, Southampton supporters will feel like they have their club back.

And with a couple of quality additions in the summer, there is no reason why the Austrian cannot maintain the success his side are currently having on the pitch.

Southampton fans, do you feel Hasenhuttl has given the team an identity again? Join the discussion by commenting below.